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11 August 2015

Modern policing- the two biggest issues

Today I had
a conversation with someone and they asked me what I thought has caused the
division between the police and public.
I told her the following.

Over the
years the #1 thing that has changed in American law enforcement is the striking
differences between the officers and the people living in the communities they
police. Starting in the 70’s agencies,
like the military, began to be much more selective with who they accepted into
their ranks. Primarily that meant lower
and lower tolerances for drug use and criminal conduct. The more stringent this has become the more
excessive force issues we have had.

At one time
in this country there was very little cultural difference between the officer
and the community he policed other than his uniform. Old police movies are full of plots where two
kids grow up in the same neighborhood.
One becomes a cop and one becomes a criminal. While growing up, they participated in many
of the same coming of age and delinquent activities. They shared common cultural experiences.

Now, the
vast majority of agencies will not accept you if you had a misdemeanor conviction
or admit to smoking weed. For the most
part, you need to be squeaky clean. You
grow up knowing nothing about the criminal element or drug culture.

You spend a
few months in the academy learning everything your agency wants you to know,
especially the things you are not supposed to do, and then you are on to field
training. Even in the most Mayberry like
places, you will answer calls and deal with people you have nothing in common
with and know nothing about.

This divide
is even worse in cities where black communities are policed predominantly by
white officers. Now not only do they
have a lack of shared behavioral culture, but also no shared ethnic or racial
culture. All the training in the world
will not change this. The bottom line
for these communities is that they can either encourage young people in their
own communities to be police or continue to be policed by whoever the agency can
hire.

The second
reason, but well related to the first is that kids can no longer get in fist
fights in school without being locked up.
Rough housing is frowned upon in every environment. Kids today may make it all the way through
high school and often college without being punched in the face.

By the time
that agencies begin defensive tactics, they often have a small fortune invested
in the recruit. They are not very happy
with instructors who break a student during training. So in the academy they don’t get punched in
the face.

You get
officers that come out of the academy that are not used to being cursed at much
less being in a fight. You put them in
scary and sometimes deadly scenarios and they end up dead or using excessive force
because they are scared.

In service
training is no better, every police instructor knows the two most important
questions that will be asked; “when is lunch” and “what time are we getting out”. That is for any training. For defensive tactics training it is even
worse.

Much of the
time firearms and defensive tactics instructors are pariahs, they care, think,
and talk about things that make fellow officers and bosses uncomfortable. Things like actually putting your hands on
someone or having to shoot them.

So, my
conclusion is that the basic problem in law enforcement is that officers are now
inoculated to the realities and stress of the street and spend too little time
on open hand combative skills that if used properly and at the right time,
could prevent the majority of excessive force issues and shootings.

Since we
have covered the problems with police, now let’s cover the biggest problem with
how this country views police. They seem
to forget that anyone stopped by the police has the opportunity not to break
the law and to do as they are told by the police. They also don’t seem to understand that if
you use violence against the police they will and are justified to use violence
against you. In my personal opinion, if
a cop can punch someone in the face, or break their arm instead of shooting
them that is a win win. You cannot make
an omelet without breaking some eggs.